His office announced on Thursday that Congress MP Shashi Tharoor will file his papers for the AICC presidential elections on Friday at 12:15 p.m. at 24 Akbar Road in New Delhi. At 1 pm, Tharoor will host a press conference at his official residence as well.
Tharoor is now thought to be the front-runner for the Congress’ top post after Rajasthan’s chief minister, Ashok Gehlot, on Thursday decided to withdraw from the race. Digvijaya Singh, a senior Congress leader, is expected to submit his nomination for the position of Congress president on Friday, making it difficult for him to win the election.
On Thursday, Singh met with Tharoor, who said they agreed that theirs is “not a battle between rivals but a friendly contest” among colleagues.
After collecting nomination papers for the polls, Singh met the party MP from Thiruvananthapuram. “I received a visit from Digvijaya Singh this afternoon. I welcome his candidacy for the Presidency of our Party,” Tharoor said in a tweet.
“We both agreed that ours is not a battle between rivals but a friendly contest among colleagues. All we both want is that whoever prevails, @incIndia will win!” he said.
On October 17, voting for the position will begin, and on October 19, the results will be announced.